Hiram volleyball served up two winning matches in their season opener last week as they defeated Cass and Woodland.

The Lady Hornets traveled to Woodland and walked away with their first two wins of the year, both 2-0. However, Hiram lost 2-1 to Marietta the same night at Woodland.

The team is coming off a 2012 season in which they went 31-10 and advanced to the second round of the Class AAAAA playoffs.

Head coach Kevin Thomas said the matches “went well” and said three players helped make the victories possible. MacKenzie Chambers and Jessica Vanegas had great serves and Adina Minott hit well from the right side, he said.

Thomas also mentioned the overall positives of the team and their play.

“The team stayed positive and kept fighting throughout the evening, even when things weren’t going their way and we were struggling,” he said. “The players hustled and gave a great effort.”

While the Lady Hornets did hustle during the games when they needed to, Thomas noted two areas the ladies need to work on for the rest of the season.

“We have to continue to work on communication, consistency and constantly talking to one another to assist each other. We also have to work on our passing — way too many errant passes on free balls. Overall, we just need to limit our mistakes a bit more,” said Thomas.

The communication will come with time during the season, but Thomas also said the summer workouts did help the girls “work on their fundaments that are vital for success on the court. It also helped build team chemistry — players are more comfortable on the court.”

Hiram was to take on Woodland again on Tuesday of this week as they face the Lady Wildcats as well as Sonoraville.

Sonoraville finished the 2012 season with a 38-10 record, making it to the third round of the Class AAA playoffs. Sonoraville was one of the few teams to defeat the Lady Hornets last season, 2-0 on Sept. 6.

While the results of the Tuesday matches were not available in time for print, prior to the competitions, Thomas did express his feeling about them.

“I’m excited, another opportunity to improve and get better. That’s what it’s all about,” he said.

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